Rockford Lawmaker Wants To Teach Students Consequences of Sexting

Kids today are way more tech savvy than I was growing up. I was really part of the first generation to use camera phones. With that camera came a whole new world in how we exchanged pictures. Many people found out the hard way that what you send is forever out there and can one day come back to haunt you, which explains why younger kids are more inclined to use Snapchat.

They have heard the horror stories about people whose jobs, family, or social status could be affected by an old picture. Snapchat allows the image to be shown quickly and then deleted forever. It's not perfect since someone could take a screen shot, but at least it notifies the user if someone does. In today's sexting culture, you need to be mindful or what you send and who you send it to. A Rockford lawmaker is trying to do just that.

Rep. Maurice West (D) introduced a bill that would require schools to have discussions on why sharing and forwarding sexually explicit or suggestive images can have consequences according to WREX.

These are tough conversations to have and many times parents aren't up on current trends and technology. Not only does it tackle the issue on sharing but forwarding is where I think there isn't enough discussion. Something only goes viral if it's shared and teaching kids about the potential consequences is important. The bill would affect grades 6-12.

Do you think it's a good idea to have schools include this in sex education classes? Do you think it should be the parents responsibility to talk to their kids and not the schools? Let me know in the comments.